Homewood Bagel Company offers free meals during COVID-19 outbreak, 'no questions asked'

As COVID-19 concerns rose in the Homewood community last week, Homewood Bagel Company owners Ginny and Joe Leavens decided to provide free cereal and sandwiches to children in need.

“I was heading to the store to pick up some supplies,” Ginny said. “I started thinking, ‘We’ve got the resources that a lot of people might not have.’”

She had just found out schools were canceled, including Edgewood Elementary, where her daughter attends. This meant that students who rely on school-provided breakfast and lunch would now have to make an extra effort to get those meals.

“As a mom, I just can’t imagine anything more stressful than not being able to feed my kids or not knowing that the resources that I’d counted on were available,” Ginny said. “It’s a stressful time for moms everywhere trying to navigate this new landscape. But that is a type of stress that’s on a different level.”

Homewood City Schools’ Child Nutrition Program will be serving free meals at Homewood Middle School every weekday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. But not everyone can make it to this location within that time frame, Ginny said — for example, a middle schooler who can’t drive and whose parents still have to go to work.

Homewood Bagel Co. made the announcement on the evening of March 13 that they would be offering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cereal to children for free, no questions asked. There was a medium-sized response the first day, Joe said, but it’s grown bigger every day since.

One family that came in had a story that Ginny said really stuck with her as a mom. The children have health issues, and the father was working at a job that increased the family’s need to self-quarantine, Ginny said.

“Not only do they have the inability to go into the store and shop, but the dad isn’t able to work right now,” she said. “So we’ve been dropping off meals at their doorstep to help with that.”

Ginny said all the credit goes to the Homewood Bagel Company team.

“We’ve had a great response from the community wanting to buy bagels and wanting to support us in that way and also from the community who have a need for the food,” Ginny said. “Our team has worked double time to not only put out meals for those in need but also just to have our regular service for our customers. They’re the ones who have stepped up big time for this.”

Marieanna Kozodoy, a staff member of Homewood Bagel Company, said her workload has dramatically increased as people order bagels by the dozen and utilize the company’s free meals. But she said she doesn't mind it.

“We’re happy to do it,” she said. “We’re happy to contribute to the community in one way or another.”

The free meal program will extend into spring break, Ginny said, and they plan to continue offering meals as long as there is a need.

“People are in a really tight spot now with a lot of places closing and people not being able to work,” she said. “If anybody has a need, they can reach out to us.”

Visit Homewood Bagel Company’s Facebook page for more information and updates.